HAVANT & W 4

Jones 49, Palmer 59, Igoe 65, Woodford 83

Dorchester TOWN 2

Bowles 8, Dickenson 15

THE age-old cliché ‘a game of two halves’ was more than apt as Dorchester Town surrendered a two-goal advantage at Westleigh Park last night.

A close-range finish from Gary Bowles and a superb solo effort from Ben Dickenson seemed to put the Magpies on course for a crucial win in Blue Square Bet South.

But fellow strugglers Havant & Waterlooville upped their game in the second half and drew level within a quarter of an hour before running away with victory to inflict a seventh defeat in eight games on Ashley Vickers’ troops.

The manager said: “In the first half we played some of the best football we’ve played this season. It was exceptional.

“We did everything we had worked on in training, we got the ball wide, we played in the right areas and we defended well at set-pieces.

“But we went from the sublime to the ridiculous. I stressed at half-time the need to keep applying the same principles and maintain our intensity.

“But we conceded a goal and became very individual. We lost our team ethic and we panicked.

“The boys became very tentative given the run we are on and we lost our individual battles.”

There were initial fears prior to kick-off that heavy rain would put paid to the fixture.

However, the game was given the green light and the Magpies made four changes in a bid to avoid a third straight loss.

Bowles and Nick Crittenden were both promoted to the starting XI, having started Saturday’s defeat on the bench, while Ashley Nicholls and Dickenson made welcome returns to the county town line-up following spells on the sidelines.

Havant included former Portsmouth and Stoke City man Vincent Pericard and it was hosts who almost took an early lead. The woodwork though, came to the away side’s rescue.

Buoyed by that reprieve, the Magpies grabbed the opening goal. A Dickenson corner was flicked on by Nathan Walker into the path of defensive partner Bowles, who stabbed home his second goal of the season.

Still licking their wounds, the Hawks were two goals down seven minutes later, and in emphatic fashion.

Dickenson picked up possession with no immediate danger but proceeded to run at the home defence before unleashing an unstoppable effort that flew into the bottom corner.

The two-goal cushion remained intact as the half-time whistle blew but four minutes into the restart, the deficit was halved when Scott Jones pounced after Alan Walker-Harris had done well to tip a Perry Ryan header onto a post.

The goal breathed new life into the Hawks and unsurprisingly their new-found confidence resulted in an equaliser just before the hour – Oliver Palmer nodding home Sammy Igoe’s cross.

With Dorchester on the ropes, the Hampshire outfit landed the knockout blow in the 65th minute – Igoe turning the ball home from Jones’ shot across goal.

The Hawks continued to push forward and only a goal-line block from Kyle Critchell maintained the gap.

However, as a result of his bravery, the county town full-back, who caught the shot square in the face, had to be replaced.

And to make matters worse, the hosts eventually bagged a fourth to put the result beyond doubt.

Igoe’s free-kick was put back into the danger zone by Jones and Ryan Woodford was on hand to sweep past Walker-Harris.

Hawks: Beazely, Newton (Hinshelwood 58), Ryan, Ramsey, Holland, Woodford, Braham-Barrett, Jones, Pericard (McDonald 46), Igoe, Palmer. Subs not used: Whyte, Peacock, Pearce.

Magpies: Walker-Harris, Critchell (Dovell 79), Smeeton (Devlin 67), Nicholls (Flood 67), N Walker, Bowles, Crittenden, Gleeson, Moss, Dickenson, Mekki. Subs not used: Martin, Wilson.

Booked: Nicholls

Attendance: 539

* League rivals Thurrock have signed Mark Wright – star of television series The Only Way is Essex.